Pinterest said on Tuesday it will lay off up to 15% of its workforce and reduce its office footprint as it pivots more aggressively toward artificial intelligence, joining a widening group of technology companies using AI adoption to justify leaner operations and lower headcount.
In a securities filing, the social media company said the job cuts are expected to be completed by the end of its third quarter in late September. Pinterest shares slipped about 3% in premarket trading, as investors weighed the immediate restructuring costs against the company’s longer-term growth strategy.
Pinterest said it is “reallocating resources” toward AI-focused teams and prioritizing “AI-powered products and capabilities,” while reshaping its sales and marketing organization. The company will also cut back on office space, reflecting a shift toward more flexible work arrangements and tighter control of fixed costs.
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The company has been steadily embedding artificial intelligence across its platform to improve content discovery, shopping, and advertising performance. Last October, Pinterest rolled out “Pinterest Assistant,” an AI-driven shopping tool designed to help users refine searches and discover products more efficiently. The platform has also expanded the use of machine learning to deliver more personalized feeds, a critical factor in retaining users and boosting engagement.
On the advertising side, Pinterest has been rolling out more automated tools that allow marketers to optimize campaigns with less manual intervention. These AI-powered products are intended to make the platform more attractive to advertisers at a time when competition for digital ad spending is intensifying. Rivals such as TikTok and Meta’s Facebook and Instagram have poured billions of dollars into AI, raising the bar for targeting precision, content relevance, and return on ad spend.
As of April last year, Pinterest had more than 4,500 employees globally, according to its most recent proxy filing. The planned cuts suggest that several hundred roles could be eliminated, primarily in areas the company sees as less central to its AI-driven strategy. Pinterest said it expects to incur pre-tax restructuring charges of between $35 million and $45 million, covering severance, benefits, and costs linked to reducing office space.
The move fits squarely into a broader trend across the technology sector, where companies are cutting headcount as AI tools increasingly automate tasks once handled by large teams. From content moderation and customer support to sales operations and marketing analytics, AI systems are allowing firms to do more with fewer employees. In many cases, companies are shrinking legacy roles while hiring selectively for highly specialized positions.
Early this week, Nike announced it is cutting 775 jobs across its U.S. distribution network as it leans more heavily on automation and advanced technology to revive margins and restore growth. The company said it is sharpening its supply chain footprint, expanding the use of automation, and investing in new skills to better serve consumers and athletes.
Layoffs framed as “reallocations” or “strategic realignments” have become a common feature of earnings calls and regulatory filings, signaling that workforce reductions are now a structural, not cyclical, response to technological change.
For Pinterest, management is betting that a smaller, more focused workforce will enable faster product development and better execution in areas that matter most to users and advertisers. The company has long positioned itself as a platform for inspiration and commerce, and AI is increasingly central to that vision, from personalized recommendations to automated ad buying.
While the cuts may dampen morale and draw scrutiny in the short term, they underscore how deeply artificial intelligence is reshaping the operating models of digital platforms. Pinterest’s decision highlights a new phase for the tech industry, one in which AI is not just a growth driver, but also a catalyst for permanent changes in how companies structure their workforces and allocate capital.
Pinterest is planning widespread layoffs and “office space reductions” in the coming months, it said Tuesday. The job cuts will impact “less than 15%” of the overall workforce, according to a securities filing, and will be carried out by the end of September. The shakeup comes as part of a broader shift of resources as Pinterest focuses more closely on “AI-powered products and capabilities” in order to attract Gen Z users. Earlier this month, the company appointed its first-ever chief business officer as part of the same effort.